Laura Kraut and Cherry Knoll Farm's Cedric set a blazing time of 42.53 seconds, riding to the victory in the Global Champions Tour Grand Prix of Switzerland. (SportFot/GCT) Lausanne, Switzerland - The GCT championship race intensified dramatically tonight with only five points between Edwina Tops-Alexander and Rolf-Göran Bengtsson after one of the most electrifying Grand Prix of the season. American rider Laura Kraut won the first-ever Global Champions Tour Grand Prix in Switzerland on the...

Becky Holder and Courageous Comet (Hannah Bennett/USEA Photo) Fairburn, GA - The Merial Advanced division at the Nutrena USEA American Eventing Championships presented by Bit of Britain wrapped up today with the show jumping phase at Chattahoochee Hills. Mark Donovan's tough course had riders incurring numerous jump and time penalties with just five double clear rounds in the division. Becky Holder (Palmetto, GA) and Courageous Comet had one rail down but held onto their lead to win the...

Greenwich, UK - Sunday saw the conclusion of the Team Championship as well medals awarded for individual performances in Grade IV, III and 1a competition at the 2012 Paralympic Games. The host nation took medals by the handful claiming two Individual Silvers, an Individual Gold and Team Gold. This is the fifth time Great Britain has earned the top spot on the team podium since 1996 when Para-Equestrian Dressage was first included in the Paralympic Games. Claiming Silver behind Great Britain was...

Lexington, KY - The United States Equestrian Federation Board of Directors assembled in Lexington, Kentucky on August 27th for the 2012 USEF Mid -Year Meeting. The election of a new President, to take office in January 2013, topped the agenda. Olympic Gold Medalist David O'Connor has served as the USEF President since 2004. The President ultimately presides over the volunteer leadership structure of the Federation. Only 12 individuals have served in the presidential role and the process for...

Donna Ponessa (West Windsor, NY) had a long time to wait before she was able to make her debut at the 2012 Paralympic Games. But she made it worth the wait as she piloted Wes Dunham’s Western Rose to a score of 70.235% in front of the Ground Jury of Kjell Myhre, Sarah Rodger, Gudrun Hofinga, Freddy Leyman and Anne Prain. Riding in Grade 1a competition, Ponessa produced a steady, rhythmic test with the 9-year-old Oldenburg mare to earn fifth place. Western Rose is well Donna Ponessa and...

Sinead Halpin and Manoir de Carneville at the 2011 Land Rover Burghley Horse Trials (StockImageServices.com) Stamford, England - The United States will be represented by six talented combinations at The Land Rover Burghley Horse Trials, August 30-September 2. A total of 85 riders from 10 nations are slated to contest one of the toughest CCI4*s in the world. Three of the U.S. entries have benefitted from Land Rover Competition and Training Grants, spending the summer training and competing in...

Reisenbeck, Germany - Heading into the 2012 FEI Four-in-Hand Driving World Championships the United States was looking to be amongst the leaders following the dressage and they have done just that. The U.S. currently stands in Bronze medal position less than a point behind the Germans in second. Reigning World Champions, The Netherlands, currently lead the Team Championship. The U.S. leads the Individual Championship as no one was able to top Chester Weber’s remarkable score of 33.41 from...

Wellington, FL - Equestrian Sport Productions (ESP) is pleased to announce that the Village of Wellington Council voted unanimously on Tuesday evening to allow them to move ahead with the 2012-2013 Adequan Global Dressage Festival (GDF) competition schedule at the new dressage facility at The Stadium at Palm Beach International Equestrian Center (PBIEC). The five-member village council met on August 14 to vote on operating issues that included stabling, operating hours, and other details of the...

Verden, Germany - Competition came to a close at the FEI World Dressage Championships for Young Horses in Verden, Germany with the final championship tests. The lone entry to compete for the United States on Sunday was Jennifer Hoffman and Florentinus V, competing in the six-year-old championship. In Sunday's International Final, the Prize of Privatbrauerei Wittingen, the pair finished a valiant 13th after a long week of competition. In Friday's Prize of Mrs. Madeleine Winter-Schulze, a...

Paul O’Shea and Instant Karma won the $30,000 Manchester & the Mountains Grand Prix on Saturday, August 4, at the 2012 Vermont Summer Festival in East Dorset, VT. (David Mullinix Photography) East Dorset, VT – Ireland’s Paul O’Shea and Instant Karma were the winners in the $30,000 Manchester & the Mountains Grand Prix, sponsored by Purina Horse Feed, on Saturday, August 4, at the 2012 Vermont Summer Festival. In a three-horse jump-off, O’Shea and Instant Karma...